Mike Koolidge, filling in for Dan Proft on Chicago’s Morning Answer, spoke with Scot Bertram, general manager of WRFH 101.7 FM at Hillsdale College and a lecturer in journalism at the school, about the closely watched U.S. Senate race in Michigan between Democrat Abdul El-Sayed and Republican Mike Rogers.
Bertram, a born-and-raised Illinoisan now living in Michigan, told Koolidge that pre-election polling showing El-Sayed with a wide lead over his Democratic primary rival, Haley Stevens, never matched what he was seeing on the ground. Many of those polls, he said, were funded by El-Sayed-aligned political action committees and should have been viewed skeptically. He said he expected a one- or two-point race, which is roughly how the primary played out, with El-Sayed winning by about a percentage point despite forecasts of a more comfortable victory.
According to Bertram, El-Sayed’s win was driven almost entirely by strong performances in Ann Arbor and Grand Rapids, areas he described as having trended more Democratic and further left in recent years, similar to the shift seen in Chicago’s collar counties. He said El-Sayed carried those two areas by wide margins, while Stevens won more counties overall, including the county that includes Detroit, which Bertram attributed in part to Black voters’ resistance to the democratic-socialist label associated with El-Sayed’s Medicare for All platform. Stevens also performed well in many of the state’s rural counties, he said.
The race carries added significance nationally, with Republicans needing to hold the seat as part of the broader battle for Senate control. Bertram noted that Rogers, who narrowly lost a Senate bid two years ago to now-Senator Elissa Slotkin, faced little serious primary opposition this cycle and enters the general election well positioned. He described Rogers as a candidate acceptable to mainstream conservatives without being seen as hard-right, someone who can appeal to independents as well as pro-Israel and Jewish voters he said have grown uncomfortable with the direction of the Democratic Party under candidates like El-Sayed. Bertram pointed to a recent Fox News poll showing Rogers ahead by four points, while cautioning that Michigan polling has a poor track record of accuracy.
Bertram also predicted more scrutiny of El-Sayed’s record in the coming months, saying outlets including the Washington Free Beacon and the Detroit News have already begun surfacing material from his past writings and public statements. He said he did not believe Stevens’ campaign conducted thorough opposition research against El-Sayed during the primary, leaving an opening Rogers’ campaign may look to exploit with moderate and independent voters ahead of the general election.
The conversation also touched on the two hosts’ shared history, including their support for Dan Proft’s 2010 Republican primary campaign for Illinois governor, before turning to a lighter discussion of Chicago sports. Bertram, a White Sox fan, credited unexpected contributions from players including Miguel Vargas for the team’s turnaround this season, while cautioning that the pitching staff was not built to last a full year. He and Koolidge also discussed the Chicago Bears’ preseason opener and the ongoing speculation about the team’s potential relocation to Indiana, a move Bertram joked would shorten his commute to games from Michigan.